Barrett’s ink pen sketch on illustration board depicts the Soldier’s Memorial Fountain in Eastman Park in the City of Poughkeepsie. This sketch was practice for a larger work that Barrett painted and sold to the Acker family in Poughkeepsie. Although the Barrett Art Center does not have the painting in its collection, photographs of the painting are accessible in the archives.

The Soldier’s Memorial Fountain was cast in the mid-1850s, purchased and installed in Eastman Park in 1870, and unveiled to the public on July 4th, 1870, five years after the end of the American Civil War. The fountain is one of four surviving cast from Model No. 5 by the Janes, Beebe, and Company. The other three remaining fountains exist in Savannah, Georgia, Curzo, Peru, and Madison, Indiana. Barrett’s sketch furthers to demonstrate his interest in all things Poughkeepsie.

"From the Archives" is brought to you by Jean Hinkley. Ms. Hinkley is a graduate student of museum studies at Marist College. Growing up in Poughkeepsie influenced the way that Jean approaches thinking about cultural institutions, particularly in how to engage with local communities. Her research within the Barrett Art Center archives seeks to shed light on the unique character of Thomas Barrett and demonstrate that there is much to learn from our Hudson Valley history.